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Join our Patreon today and get exclusive access to Bortle 1 Skies ✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics Welcome BAAACK to The Astrocast! This week, Roo sits down with Nathan from Astropeak Observatories, to talk about what it's like to actually take the dive in to opening a remote observatory! We get in to the challenges, the rewards, and how to pick the best spot, and a WHOLE lot more! Special thanks to Mark Linley for the poem shared near the end of the show! If you've ever wondered about imaging remotely from a truly dark location, this is the episode for you! If you would like to support the show AND reserve a founders pier at Astropeak, join our Patreon today! You'll get access to the Astrocast Society Discord, where the family meets every single day to talk all things astro! Not only that, but you'll get a DISCOUNT on your pier at Astropeak, that's a win win! Can't wait to see you there! Thanks so much to Nate for taking the time to sit down and talk with us, and we'll definitely keep you updated on how things go! I personally can't WAIT for May!  Credit for Music: "Mana Two - Part 2" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

 ✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics JOIN US on the Patreon to get exclusive access to Astropeak Observatories! Only 9 spots remain as of 1/27/26! Bortle 1 skies from 7000 ft, you heard that right! Welcome baaaaack to The Astrocast! This week, Roo takes you through the crazy winter weather we've experienced in Charlotte over the last weekend, the less than stellar Aurora Show in N. America (glad some of you European listeners got  to see it!!) as well as honoring a great man, a mother, and a lot more. New mounts, including the ZWO AM7, and MLAstro with the SAL33, and SAL66! I'm dropping the episode 1 day early, because why not??? Also - I had a lot more written, but it got deleted accidentally! OOPS! Congrats to PARISH for winning this weeks #socialmediastardust challenge! If you would like to enter to win a cash prize and a Seestar S30 Smart Telescope, just hashtag #socialmediastardust or tag The Astrocast on your image, and you may be next weeks winner!  Visit The Astrocast on Facebook! Check out ML Astro and their new mounts here! If you haven't yet, please consider donating to the show's Patreon and (more importantly) becoming a member of our private, members-only Discord!!! Shout out to our newest member, Jason!  If you just wanna be awesome, you can also show your love by buying me a coffee! This show is 100% ad free because of listeners like you, and supporters like Dark Dragons Astronomy!  Clear Skies! Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

  ✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY ASTROCAST! Welcome BAAAACK to The Astrocast! This week on the show, Roo takes you through SWITCHING TO NINA! He's finally decided to pull the trigger and move away from the ASIAIR for his main widefield imaging rig, and there are a LOT of choices that need to be considered to make that happen! We also discuss some of the hardware choices that go in to it, including choosing a PC. Check out the links below for all the things we discuss this week! Finally, Roo talks about the incredibly exciting new partnership with ASTROPEAK OBSERVATORIES! If you would like to reserve one of the remaining piers for the first run (there will be more in the future of course, but early birds get in first!) make sure you join the Patreon!!!!   Not only will you get five dollars off your mount (which makes your Patreon/Discord membership free!) but you will get access to the AMAZING community of like minded individuals and all of the awesomeness that comes with it! We are also going to start doing standing monthly tutorial days where myself and others will get on video chat with the rest of the group and answer any and all questions that you might have! Finally, I probably don't need to tell you this, but Nathan, proprietor of Astropeak Observatory, is a member of the Discord as well! That's not to mention all the other incredibly bright minds that are part of the group...it really is a special collective! JOIN THE PATREON HERE, and get your discount to reserve your pier today!!! Links from today's show: SVBONY Powerbox + USB Hub (these really are amazing) The Mini PC I went with (You can go with any mini PC really, just make SURE it has a REAL processor, Ryzen! Do NOT get a N100 or N150 processor, you'll regret it!) Losmandy Dovetail Plate (I really LOVE this dovetail. It's great in pretty much every way. Highly, highly recommended. And the price can't be beat when compared with others. Ok - i guess you could pay twice as much and get a fancier color? But me...i'd rather have the extra money.) Rain Sensor Module This is the module I told you I got a 2 pack of, they're really cool! Can be programmed to arduino, ESP32, or raspberry pi! Good luck! NINA - Nighttime Imaging 'N Astronomy! The best astro-software there is!  Leviathan Optical Spectral Pro LP Filter I have one on long term loan from Leviathan, and it's incredible! It never comes off my Askar. Congrats to  Jett Spaulding, this weeks #socilamediastardust winner! Jett- you'll be entered in for a chance to win $100 and a ZWO Seestar S30 telescope at the end of the contest! Good luck, and keep up the GREAT work!  Special thanks to Nathan and Astropeak for sponsoring the giveaway, it is greatly appreciated!  We'll see you soon, until then - as always... Clear skies!  3  Roo Any links above may be affiliate links which a small portion Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

Check out the video here! - you'll wanna watch this weeks episode if ya can! This week on The Astrocast, Roo, Justin, and Parish get together to discuss Astrophotography data management, Pixinsight, Network Attached Storage, NINA, and a whole lot more, on this weeks episode of The Astrocast. If you would like to support the show, consider joining our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/c/TheAstrocast  On today's episode, you'll learn all about: Justin's method for dealing with MASSIVE amounts of data Parish's method for dealing with a more "normal"/human amount of data Some awesome tips and tricks for Pixinsight NAS Storage for AP Event Scheduler for NINA ..and a whole lot more! If you like the video, please subscribe!  You can also find The Astrocast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen!  Links from this weeks show: Follow the Deepsky Collective on Instagram Jellyfin (Open source media server): https://jellyfin.org/  NINA: https://nighttime-imaging.eu/  A very special thank you and shout out to Parish and Justin for joining me this week. A huge heartfelt hug going out to @DylanODonnell hoping he recovers quickly, the community needs you, and you're just too great of a guy for this to hapen to. Godspeed Dylan. Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

Hey everyone, it's Roo! Hope the end of 2025 is treating you well! We will be doing a SPECIAL live premier for Episode 83 of The Astrocast over on Youtube, and I hope to see you all there! I'll be live in the chat with you, so if you want to stop by and say hi, it should be happening between 7 and 9pm EST on 12/31.  The Astrocast Live Premiere on Youtube Look forward to seeing you soon, clear skies!  -Roo Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

 ✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics  That's io, as in, EEE OH! "io, Saturnalia!" - shout it from the rooftops!  WELCOME BAAACK to The Astrocast! Roo is back from having a nasty cold last week, and thrilled to be with you! This week on the show, we talk about some ancient Roman traditions that celebrate the winter solstice and the holidays! We also discuss the "flavor of the week", Veralux Hypermetric Stretch (That's a moutful!) along with many other topics, including an announcement about a change to the shows format starting in 2026!!! I know it sounds scary, but believe me, this is for the best, and will mean BETTER QUALITY episodes, full stop!  A huge congrats to John Walsh for winning this weeks #socialmediastardust challenge! You can check out his photo here! It's also this weeks cover art, I hope you don't mind John! i did watermark it for ya ;)  Links from this weeks episode: Sky Quality Meter (SQM) - https://bit.ly/3MJaDse Leviathan Optic Spectral Pro - https://shop.leviathanoptical.com/products/leviathan-spectral-pro Windy (iOS and Android) - https://www.windy.com Meteor Shower Calendar! - https://www.imo.net/resources/calendar/ Rain Sensor (2 pack) - https://amzn.to/4awuJzQ Dark Dragon Astronomy - https://darkdragonsastro.com/ If you haven't yet, please consider donating to the show's Patreon and (more importantly) becoming a member of our private, members-only Discord!!! Shout out to our newest member, Jason!  If you just wanna be awesome, you can also show your love by buying me a coffee! This show is 100% ad free because of listeners like you, and supporters like Dark Dragons Astronomy!  The Astrocast may make a small commission from any affiliate links used in the show notes, thanks for your support!  Visit The Astrocast on Facebook! Thanks for listening, clear skies! Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

Hey everyone! Hope you're doing great. Just checking in to let ya know i'm under the weather this week, been pushing myself a little too hard lately and it seems my body has finally caught up with my mind.   I'll be taking the week off to get some rest and hopefully recover quickly, and will be back with you guys in no time. Enjoy those stars for me while i'm away, and clear skies to you all! -Roo Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

 ✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics WELCOME BAAACK to The Astrocast! Roo is back from Thanksgiving break, and ready to talk about Astrophotography processing PC's! This week on the show, we go deep on what matters and what may not matter quite as much when building an ideal comptuer for AP processing. It goes without saying - these are just my OPINIONS! You may completely disagree with me on much of this, and that's okay! Building a PC is great because you can make it a thousand different ways, and none are truly "wrong"!   Also - congrats to Ben for winning this weeks #socialmediastardust challenge! Finally - we end the episode with an AWESOME song! Welcome back, indeed! Remember - you can always support the show by using any of the above links to make your purchases for AP, it helps a lot!  Have you gotten your Astrocast Merch yet??? There's still time for Christmas!  Links from this week's show:  PCPartPicker.com ASI4400 MC Pro DragonLight Mobile (Flat Panel App for iPad) And a link to our always great sponsor and friends of the show, Dark Dragons Astronomy! If you haven't yet, please consider donating to the show's Patreon and (more importantly) becoming a member of our private, members-only Discord!!! Shout out to our newest member, Jason!  If you just wanna be awesome, you can also show your love by buying me a coffee! This show is 100% ad free because of listeners like you, and supporters like Dark Dragons Astronomy!  The Astrocast may make a small commission from any affiliate links used in the show notes, thanks for your support!  Visit The Astrocast on Facebook! Thanks for listening, clear skies! Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

Hey everyone! We're still off  this week for the holiday break, but worry not - i'm back in the driver seat and working on an awesome episode for next week! While you wait, I thought you might enjoy listening to an interview I did on another podcast about Light Pollution!  If you like the show, feel free to check out Lori and Debbie here: The Backyard Naturalists We'll be back next week with an all new episode...it's been cloudy and rainy in Charlotte! Hope you're having clearer skies than us!  3  Roo Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

 ✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics Welcome baaaack to Late Night, with The Astrocast! This week, Roo quietly takes you on a journey through...well, you'll just have to listen for yourself and find out.  The Astrocast will be off for Thanksgiving in the USA, but we'll be back the week of 11/30 with an ALL NEW episode! Don't go anywhere!  Visit The Astrocast on Facebook! If you haven't yet, please consider donating to the show's Patreon and (more importantly) becoming a member of our private, members-only Discord!!! Shout out to our newest member, Jason!  If you just wanna be awesome, you can also show your love by buying me a coffee! This show is 100% ad free because of listeners like you, and supporters like Dark Dragons Astronomy!  The Astrocast may make a small commission from any affiliate links used in the show notes, thanks for your support!  Thanks for listening, clear skies! Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

 ✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics HEADS UP! There's an awesome sale happening on the ASKAR FRA300! It's got a HUGE discount on it, but it won't last long! Get yours here, and help the show a bit! Welcome baaaack to The Astrocast! This week, Roo takes you on an adventure through the history of DRIZZLING! The why, how, and where! THE WHO! ALL THE W'S!!! We also crown a week 2 winner of #socialmediastardust and talk about light pollution, you know, the usual! Shout out to Jon and James, new member of the Patreon/Discord Fam! Welcome to the group my friends!  Links from this weeks show:  DragonLight Mobile (Flat Panel App for iPad) Astronomy Tools Under/Oversampled Calculator!  Congrats to Matthew Sunkin! This week's #SocialMediaStardust winner! Check out his photo here! If you haven't yet, please consider donating to the show's Patreon and (more importantly) becoming a member of our private, members-only Discord!!! Shout out to our newest member, Jason!  If you just wanna be awesome, you can also show your love by buying me a coffee! This show is 100% ad free because of listeners like you, and supporters like Dark Dragons Astronomy!  The Astrocast may make a small commission from any affiliate links used in the show notes, thanks for your support!  Visit The Astrocast on Facebook! Thanks for listening, clear skies! Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening! Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

 ✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics Welcome baaaack to The Astrocast! This week, Roo takes you through a bunch of awesome new plugins he recently discovered (check out the links below!) and announces a new weekly segment for the show!!! Congrats to Christy Toms from Australia for being the first winner of Social Media Stardust! Great photo, Christy! We also discuss the return of the Great Nebula in Orion, and SVBONY coming in to its own as a hardware manufacturer!  Links from this weeks show:  SVBONY Filter Drawer SVBONY Filter Drawer (2 pack) SVBONY USB Hub Evadry Dehumidifier If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies Cosmic Photons Scripts SETI Astro Scripts If you haven't yet, please consider donating to the show's Patreon and (more importantly) becoming a member of our private, members-only Discord!!! Shout out to our newest member, Jason!  If you just wanna be awesome, you can also show your love by buying me a coffee! This show is 100% ad free because of listeners like you, and supporters like Dark Dragons Astronomy!  The Astrocast may make a small commission from any affiliate links used in the show notes, thanks for your support!  Visit The Astrocast on Facebook! FULL LIST OF SCRIPTS FOR PIXINSIGHT (copy each one individually and paste in to your repository section in PI, as described in the episode): https://www.rc-astro.com/BlurXTerminator/PixInsight https://www.rc-astro.com/NoiseXTerminator/PixInsight https://www.rc-astro.com/StarXTerminator/PixInsight https://www.rc-astro.com/TensorFlow/PixInsight/GPU https://elveteek.ch/pixinsight-updates/ez-processing-suite/ https://pixinsight.deepskyforge.com/update/graxpert-process/ https://www.ghastro.co.uk/updates/ https://raw.githubusercontent.com/setiastro/pixinsight-updates/main/ https://www.ideviceapps.de/PixInsight/Utilities/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/starreduction/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/screenstars/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-modules/colourmask/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/nbcolourmapper/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-modules/narrowbandnormalization/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/drawannotation/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/bfke/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/colormask/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/closeview/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/copyastrometricsolution/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/hertzsprungrussell/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/pixelmathui/ https://www.cosmicphotons.com/pi-scripts/imageblend/ Thanks for listening, clear skies! Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

 ✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics Welcome baaaack to The Astrocast! We celebrate a large milestone this week with our third, and FINAL (hopefully) microphone! Please welcome, all the way from broadcast Nirvana, the Shure SM7B! If the Astrocast was Goku, we'd have some GIANT hair by now! If I sound particularly silky smooth this week - get used to it! I finally took the plunge and upgraded the trusty Rode PodMic to the legendary Shure SM7B. A giant thank you to all the supporters and longtime listeners of the show, when I started The Astrocast I remember looking at the SM7B and thinking, "I'll never have one of those!" - and now we do! Thank you!!! THIS WEEK on the show - Roo's recent great luck with clear weather has clearly run out - with a veritable lake of rain hitting Charlotte over the last week, with no end in sight. At least the kids will get no rain for Halloween! Reactions to last weeks episode on Reflect Orbital, plus the man who "finished" astrophotography! We also go over the many uses of GPT for AP, which you may have not thought of! That and so much more, all on this week's Astrocast! If you haven't yet, please consider donating to the show's Patreon and (more importantly) becoming a member of our private, members-only Discord!!! If you just wanna be awesome, you can also show your love by buying me a coffee! This show is 100% ad free because of listeners like you, and supporters like Dark Dragons Astronomy!  The Astrocast may make a small commission from any affiliate links used in the show notes, thanks for your support!  Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

**WARNING! Roo gets a bit ANGRY during this one!** Shop trusted astronomy retailers using our affiliate links:  ✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics Every purchase helps keep The Astrocast ad-free and delivering the top-notch content you deserve! A special thanks to our friends-of-the-show and long-time sponsors, Dark Dragons Astronomy! Check out DDA for all your observatory needs! WELCOME BAAAACK to The Astrocast! This week, Roo takes you through some recent news that could potentially have a HUGE impact on the Astronomical community much sooner than you think! Also, how to take flats!  Links from this weeks show: Email these jerks and tell them they suck if they put giant mirrors in our night skies Flat Tracing Panels: https://amzn.to/4ntTrUk Dark Dragons Astronomy Scott Meyers: Off to be the Wizard (audiobook) Scott Meyers: Off to be the Wizard (physical book) Follow The Astrocast on FB #StopLightPollution #DarkSkiesForAll Join the Patreon community for access to our members only Discord family, the Astrocast Society! We've COMPLETELY rebuilt our Discord from the ground up, and it really is a sight to behold! Special thank you to Tim for all his hard work in recent weeks to get this up to date! THANK YOU to our newest members, Chris, Ken, and Lex!! Welcome to the Astrofam! Now that there's a bit of chill in the air...Don't forget to get your Astrocast Hoodie!!! OR Bumper Sticker!  If you'd like to support the show with a one time donation, Buy Me a Coffee — every bit of support helps us continue exploring the night sky together. We'll be back next week with another all-new episode, and until then - as always - CLEAR SKIES!  3 Roo Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!

Shop trusted astronomy retailers using our affiliate links:  ✨ Agena Astro | 🔭 High Point Scientific | 📦 Amazon | 🌌 First Light Optics Every purchase helps keep The Astrocast ad-free and delivering the top-notch content you deserve!  Join the Patreon community for access to our members only Discord family, the Astrocast Society! We've COMPLETELY rebuilt our Discord from the ground up, and it really is a sight to behold! Special thank you to Tim for all his hard work in recent weeks to get this up to date!  Now that there's a bit of chill in the air...Don't forget to get your Astrocast Hoodie!!! OR Bumper Sticker!  If you'd like to support the show with a one time donation, Buy Me a Coffee — every bit of support helps us continue exploring the night sky together. #DarkSkiesForAll 🌠 WELCOME BAAAACK to The Astrocast! This week, Roo takes you through many topics, including two beautiful comets (SWAN and Lemmon) that MAY become Naked Eye visible, as well as becoming a member of the 2600 club! We'll also sit under the stars and catch up with Tauras the The Pleiades for a bit, and wrap things up with some great recommendations! Hope you're all doing GREAT, and I'm super happy to be back!  We'll be back next week with another all new episode, and until then - as always - CLEAR SKIES!  3 Roo Support the show Email me at "[email protected]" with any questions/comments. Thanks for listening!